The present invention relates to cell storage and delivery systems. More specifically, the present invention is directed to biodegradable and/or bioabsorbable fibrous articles having utility as a carrier for viable cells.
Methods and compositions for encapsulating core materials, e.g., materials containing drugs, have been disclosed. These methods generally involve encapsulating the core material within a microcapsule by forming a semipermeable membrane around the core material.
Although a number of processes for microencapsulation of core material have been developed, most of these processes cannot be used for pH, temperature or ionic strength-sensitive material such as viable cells because of the harsh conditions necessary for encapsulation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,883 to Lim discloses what is believed to be one of the first processes for successfully encapsulating viable tissue or cells within a semipermeable membrane. In the process, a temporary capsule of a gellable material, e.g., an anionic gum such as sodium alginate, is formed about the tissue or cells and a permanent, semipermeable membrane is formed by cross-linking surface layers of the temporary capsule. Specifically, a mixture of the gum and the core material is subjected to a gelling solution, preferably a calcium ion solution, to produce a temporary capsule. The resulting temporary capsule is reacted with a solution of a polycationic material to form a permanent membrane. The interior of the capsule may be reliquified by reestablishing conditions under which the anionic gum is liquid, e.g., changing the ionic environment by placing the capsules in phosphate buffered saline. Reliquification of the interior of the capsule facilitates nutrient transport across the membrane, promoting cell growth. The process need not damage the core material or hamper the viability of cells because the temperature, ionic strength, and pH ranges used in the encapsulation process need not be harsh.
A preferred embodiment of the Lim encapsulation technique involves the formation of shape-retaining gelled masses that contain the material to be encapsulated, followed by deposition of a membrane on the surface of the gelled masses. The membrane is formed as relatively high molecular weight materials contact the gel masses and form ionic cross-links with the gel. Lim discloses that lower molecular weight cross-linking polymers permeate further into the structure of the gelled masses and result in a reduction of pore size. Lim also discloses that the duration of membrane formation affects pore size. Given a pair of reactants, the longer the cross-linking polymer solution is exposed to the gelled mass, the thicker and less permeable the membrane.
While the techniques for porosity control and membrane formation disclosed in the Lim patent may form acceptable membranes, they do not allow fine tuning of the membrane porosity, but rather set rough differential filtering limits.
In addition to improved porosity, for commercial purposes it is also important to be able to consistently produce microcapsules in large numbers having defect-free membranes. In this regard, membranes formed by the Lim techniques occasionally have protruding portions of cells or have cells anchored on the capsules. The Lim techniques also may produce capsules containing voids that allow cells, the substance of interest, or unwanted contaminants to escape from the capsule. If a small fraction of the microcapsules made with a specific purpose in mind have membrane voids, many of the objectives and advantages of the processes would be frustrated. Accordingly, encapsulation processes that promote membrane uniformity and avoid random membrane defects are advantageous to commercial practice.
Other methods for encapsulating or otherwise immobilizing biologically active materials, e.g. viable cells, have been disclosed which involve suspending the biologically active material in a gel composition and incorporating the gel material into the pores of a semi-permeable or permeable structure, or reacting the gel material to form a porous polymeric coating over the gel material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,747 to Moo-Young et al. describes the immobilization of cells and other biologically active materials within a semipermeable membrane or microcapsule composed of an anionic polymer such as alginate induced to gel in the presence of calcium and/or a polymeric polycation such as chitosan.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,286 to Tsang et al. describes the encapsulation of solid core materials such as cells within a semipermeable membrane, by suspending the core material in a solution of a water-soluble polyanionic polymer, preferably alginate salts, forming droplets, and gelling the polyanion with a polyvalent polycation such as a polypeptide, a protein or a polyaminated polysaccharide, preferably polylysine, polyarginine, or polyornithine. This patent further teaches controlling the porosity and permeability of the disclosed compositions to molecules ranging from about 60,000 to about 900,000 Daltons by changing the degree of hydration of the polymer. Incubation in saline or chelating agents increases hydration and expands the gels, whereas incubation in calcium chloride contracts the gel mass. Increases in charge density of the polycationic membrane generally produces smaller pores. Increases in the molecular weight of the polycationic polymer generally produces a thicker, less permeable membrane.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,168 to Jarvis describes the encapsulation of core materials such as cells, enzymes, antibodies, hormones, etc. within a semipermeable membrane or microcapsule composed of an aminated polymeric inner layer such as chitosan ionically bound to an anionic polymeric outer layer such as polyglutamic or polyaspartic acid.
While these other methods may provide a generally useful means for encapsulating cells, techniques involving the formation of a membrane around a gel core material containing the cells can have certain drawbacks. As discussed above, it is difficult to fine tune the membrane porosity and to form defect free membranes. Moreover, there can be drawbacks in trying to store cells using such materials. Viable cells are typically stored by freezing, for example, in liquid nitrogen. However, the gel core materials and polymeric coating can become brittle and difficult to handle when inserted in a liquid nitrogen environment. Thus, it would be commercially advantageous to provide membranes having controlled porosity and physical integrity which are useful for containing viable cells and which exhibit excellent mechanical handling ability even when frozen, e.g. in liquid nitrogen. It would also be advantageous to provide a system for containing viable cells which can be formed around the cells under mild conditions without the need for a gel core material carrier for the cells.
Polymeric membranes produced by an electrospinning technique have been suggested as being useful for biological membranes such as substrates for immobilized enzymes and catalyst systems, wound dressing materials and artificial blood vessels, as well as for aerosol filters and ballistic garments.
Electrospinning is an atomization process of a conducting fluid that exploits the interactions between an electrostatic field and the conducting fluid. When an external electrostatic field is applied to a conducting fluid (e.g., a semi-dilute polymer solution or a polymer melt), a suspended conical droplet is formed, whereby the surface tension of the droplet is in equilibrium with the electric field. Electrostatic atomization occurs when the electrostatic field is strong enough to overcome the surface tension of the liquid. The liquid droplet then becomes unstable and a tiny jet is ejected from the surface of the droplet. As it reaches a grounded target, the material can be collected as an interconnected web containing relatively fine, i.e. small diameter, fibers. The resulting films (or membranes) from these small diameter fibers have very large surface area to volume ratios and small pore sizes. Although membranes can be produced by electrospinning under mild conditions, no practical industrial process has been implemented for producing membranes useful for medical applications. This is because with the production of small fibers, such as nanosize fibers, the total yield of the process is very low and a scale-up process, which maintains the performance characteristics of the films (or membranes), cannot be easily achieved.
Thus, there is a need for improved cell storage and delivery systems which can be produced on an industrial scale, which do not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.